Victor Wooten makes it clear in the first few seconds of Palmystery that
he's the man in charge. His spellbinding, acrobatic basslines take the
lead, literally, and even when he's fulfilling the traditional role of
the bassist (not that there's much about his virtuosic playing that's
traditional) and shining the spotlight on his collaborators, he remains
the focal point. Yet Wooten, the veteran bassist of Béla Fleck & the
Flecktones, is no showoff. Through mostly original compositions (the
sole cover is Horace Silver's "Song for My Father") that glide easily
between jazz fusion, world music, R&B, gospel, rock, and funk,
through instrumental and vocal sections, improvisations and structured
pieces, Wooten holds it all together -- it's nearly impossible not to
listen to what he's doing with his instrument. Still, although the
musicianship is never less than stellar throughout and always takes a
front seat, this is not an indulgent record -- Wooten and his crew serve
the songs, not vice versa, and they do so with panache. The leadoff
track, "2 Timers," serves notice that this is going to be a fun listen,
not a difficult one, despite the complexity often inherent: with one
drummer playing in 3/4 time and the other in 4/4 (hence the title),
Wooten alternately hands the reins over to violinist Eric Silver, a
three-man horn section, harmonica ace Howard Levy, and brother Joseph
Wooten on keyboards. Continual shifts of tempo, mood, and texture keep
things lively and then, just in case it seems like this is how it might
stay, the second track, the Arabian-flavored "Cambo," puts an entirely
different spin on things. With lead and choired vocals by co-writer Amir
Ali and Saundra Williams, Wooten lays down a solid rhythm over which
brothers Joseph and guitarist Regi Wooten work out, along with Ali on
violin, lute, and darbouka (an African hand drum). Each successive track
expands the album's colorings: on "I Saw God," which features Richard
Bona among its vocalists, Victor Wooten offers a non-religious person's
impressions of his confrontation with a unisexual, philosophical,
word-playing deity, while the flamenco-esque "The Lesson" pares down the
cast to just Victor on bass and another Flecktone brother, Roy Wooten,
supplying percussion. And so on throughout: "The Gospel" doubles up
Wooten's fretted and fretless basses with ghostly vocals from the
Woodard Family and a team of horns, and the Silver interpretation is
spirited and swinging, with Karl Denson's tenor saxophone among the more
notable solos on the record. "Us 2," the closing track, is also the
quietest, Wooten laying low on basses and drum programming while Keb'
Mo' peels off sleek slide guitar licks and Joseph Wooten lays down a bed
of keyboards. "Sifu" utilizes Mike Stern's guitar. "Miss U," which
features the Lee Boys on vocals, Roosevelt "The Doctor" Collier on pedal
steel, and Alvin Lee (presumably not the Ten Years After guitarist) on
guitar, is a gospelized, bluesy, soul-fried rave-up that gives Wooten a
chance to show off his boogie power. Palmystery solidifies Victor
Wooten's rep not only as one of the most skillful, inventive bassists on
the planet but a heck of a diversified songwriter and bandleader, too. Jeff TamarkinTracklist :
1 2 Timers 4:51
Harmonica – Howard Levy
Piano – Joseph Wooten
Written-By – Victor L. Wooten
2 Cambo 5:25
Bass [Low] – Anthony Wellington
Written-By – Amir Ali, Victor L. Wooten
3 I Saw God 4:20
Vocals, Percussion – Richard Bona
Written-By – Victor L. Wooten
4 The Lesson 5:55
Written-By – Victor L. Wooten
5 Left, Right, & Center 7:11
Written-By – Victor L. Wooten
6 Sifu 7:36
Bass – Regi Wooten
Written-By – Victor L. Wooten
7 Miss U 4:33
Bass – Alvin "Lil' Al" Cordy
Written-By – Victor L. Wooten
8 Flex 6:37
Bass [Thumb Solo] – Anthony "Flex" Wellington
Written-By – Victor L. Wooten
9 The Gospel 6:40
Vocals – The Woodard Family
Written-By – Joseph Wooten, Victor L. Wooten
10 Song For My Father 5:10
Written-By – Horace Silver
11 Happy Song 4:23
Written-By – Victor L. Wooten
12 Us 2 2:58
Written-By – Victor L. Wooten
Personnel:
Alto Saxophone – Rudy Wooten (tracks: 9, 11), Shawn "Thunder" Wallace (tracks: 6)
Baritone Saxophone – Jeff Coffin (tracks: 9), Karl Denson (tracks: 10)
Bass – Victor Wooten
Drums
– Dennis Chambers (tracks: 5), Derico Watson (tracks: 1 to 3, 8, 10),
Earl "Big E" Walker (tracks: 7), JD Blair (tracks: 1, 5, 6), Raymond
Massey (tracks: 11), Will Kennedy (tracks: 5, 9)
Guitar – Alvin Lee (tracks: 7), Mike Stern (tracks: 5, 6), Regi Wooten (tracks: 2, 8, 10, 11)
Keyboards – Joseph Wooten (tracks: 1 to 3, 6 to 9, 11, 12)
Tenor Saxophone – Jeff Coffin (tracks: 1, 9)
Trombone – Barry Green (tracks: 1, 9)
Trumpet – Rod McGaha (tracks: 1, 9)
Violin – Amir Ali (tracks: 2, 8)
Violin, Mandolin – Eric Silver (tracks: 1)
Vocals – Amir Ali (tracks: 2, 6), Saundra Williams (tracks: 2, 7)
Vocals [Low] – Alvin Chea (tracks: 6) 
